Round #2

Strategy

My first experiment ended with success. I balance transferred $219,497, invested in DLI Fund, and earned $17,951 net profit. For the 2nd round, I am going to invest in real estate crowdfunding for short-term and high-yield investment opportunities. Groundfloor will be my primary platform, and iFunding for backup. In theory, a 16% ROI over 12-months with a borrowing cost of 3% will generate 13% profit.

Total Balance Transfers: $352,711

Date

Credit Card

Promotion

Cash

Balance

07/11/2016

Discover More

13m/0%/3%

$16,000

$16,480

08/10/2016

BankAmericard Cash Rewards

15m/0%/3%

$19,400

$19,982

08/10/2016

BankAmericard Travel Rewards

15m/0%/3%

$19,400

$19,982

08/10/2016

Citi Dividend Platinum Select

10m/0%/3%

$18,000

$18,540

08/10/2016

Citi Diamond Preferred

10m/0%/3%

$21,500

$22,145

08/15/2016

BankAmericard Platinum Plus

18m/0%/0%

$19,961

$19,961

08/19/2016

Discover it

12m/0%/3%

$20,800

$21,424

08/30/2016

Citi Double Cash

17m/0%/5%

$21,000

$22,050

09/17/2016

Discover it

12m/0%/3%

$7,000

$7,210

09/21/2016

NFL Extra Points

15m/0%/3%

$14,500

$14,935

09/21/2016

Discover it

12m/0%/3%

$14,800

$15,244

09/21/2016

Citi Simplicity

21m/0%/3%

$24,200

$24,926

09/22/2016

MLB BankAmericard Cash Rewards

12m/0%/3%

$19,700

$20,291

09/23/2016

BankAmericard Cash Rewards

12m/0%/3%

$19,400

$19,982

09/23/2016

BankAmericard Platinum Plus

12m/0%/3%

$19,400

$19,982

09/23/2016

Citi Double Cash

10m/0%/3%

$24,200

$24,926

10/05/2016

Chase Slate

15m/0%/2%

$14,250

$14,535

10/05/2016

Chase Freedom Unlimited

14m/0%/5%

$15,000

$15,750

10/13/2016

Citi ThankYou Preferred

16m/0%/3%

$24,200

$24,926

Total

13.87 months, 0% APR, 2.99% fee

$352,711

$363,271

I’ve transferred a total balance of $352,711 from 19 different credit cards. The cost of borrowing was 2.99% or $10,560 for 13.87 months.

Return On Investment (ROI): 7.22%

Description

Net Profit/Loss

Net Return

EVIVA Midtown Project (iFunding)

$18,860

19.74%

Short-Term Small Business Loans (DLI Fund)

$17,164

8.45%

Balance Transfer Fees

($10,560)

(2.99%)

Total Return On Investment

$25,464

7.22%

An estimated return on a crowdfunding real estate investment over 12 months is 19.74%, DLI Fund over 10 months is 8.45%. After subtracting the balance transfer fees, my estimated ROI for this round is 7.22%.

Highlight

Balance Transfer Mistakes

Citi offers 3% fee & 0% APR for 12 months deals. I should have waited a couple more weeks for better promotions rather than taking higher rate or shorter term offers.

For credit cards that require balance transfer to cash via over-payment, use a 0% fee direct deposit option from Citi. This is the fastest & easiest way to cash out. I shouldn’t have transferred to U.S. Bank for this purpose. I had to reverse all balance transfers. It triggered massive account closure with Bank of America.

Chase takes longer time to offer balance transfer deals after credit score is restored. I started another transfers too soon.

Applying Capital One, American Express, and U.S. Bank credit cards at App-O-Rama phase was not necessary. They are not balance transfer friendly. Due to the Chase 5/24 Rule, I won’t be able to get new Chase cards until September 2018.

Change of Investment Plan

I had to revise my investment plan multiple times.

Groundfloor was experiencing the lack of volume in their loan offerings prior to 2017.

Other Points

Bank of America, Citi, and Chase are the 3 best banks for a balance transfer. I can always count on $80,000 ($20,000 x 4) from Bank of America, $100,000 ($25,000 x 4) from Citi, and $60,000 ($15,000 x 4) from Chase.

The credit card minimum monthly payments were little over $4,000. Thus, total monthly spending (including household & living expenses) was close to $10,000. I was able to cover it with a full time salary.